November 24, 2020 – “Spiritual Mother”

        Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! Psalm 100:3-4.

Knowing He made us, and we are His, changes everything. This one verse lays the groundwork for seeing beyond this world. Our efforts to overcome our difficulties and trials of this world are ineffectual. We long for acceptance, love, joy, and peace. The world teaches us to trust no one.  The world tries to negate anything that is of God.

Jesus tried to prepare his disciples for his coming death on the cross. He spoke plainly.  “Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.  I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  John16:32-33.

Jesus has overcome the world! And this is one assurance a Spiritual Mother can teach. When I read about this term, Spiritual Mother, I remember how one of God’s commands is to teach the next generation.

One day, I saw a tiny book on my bookshelf wondered what it could hold. The title?  “Daily Maxims Birthday Book!”  Curious. The inside fly leaf had twelve signatures of Ladies I knew in The First Christian Church in Clinton, Oklahoma. I read the names and smiled. These were my first Spiritual Mothers. They touched my life by being my friend, from birth to sixteen years of age.

One lady had me sitting in the teacher seat of U-shaped table for teaching children when I was seven years old. I still recall in that moment thinking about teaching children then. Now I know we are all teachers of the Word. The first maxim for the year—The word that escapes the tongue cannot be captured.  Now the maxims have meaning for me. The last maxim of the year says, – Where God is, nothing is wanting.  Little did these twelve spiritual mothers realize that seventy-five years later I would read their names and remember their kindness.

A Spiritual Mother teaches someone how to walk with the Lord, by a few words she responds to life and the kind words she speaks.  My Mother’s words come back to me often, most unexpectedly, and now I understand.  She is still teaching me from Heaven.

A Spiritual Mother knows how to walk with the Lord. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;  giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  Colossians 1:9-12.

This verse teaches how to walk with the Lord, believing and trusting our God each day.  The presence of Jesus is with each of us and the Holy Spirit guides us.

One command of God, not a suggestion, reads, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35.

As a Spiritual Mother, it is important to love and show the example of loving one another by giving of yourself.  Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for our Gift of Grace and Salvation, this is how He loves.

The words we use in our conversations are an important consideration. No one ‘bleeps’ the words of Jesus, because his language are free from swearing. But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. James 5:12.

One other attribute of a Spiritual Mother is to listen even as God listens to the prayers of the faithful.  And first, must come humility of spirit.  Paul writes, I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3.

Humility of Spirit allows a Spiritual Mother to listen to others before giving them the hope of Jesus.  Finally, all of you have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. I Peter 3:8.

Honoring God, a Spiritual Mother teaches another generation, knowing how important it is to know God’s Love from generation to generation.  O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim Your might to another generation, Your power to all those to come. Psalm 71:17-18. There is no retirement from ‘mothering’ with the message of God. Whether a woman has children or not, Mothering is needed in many realms, from generation to generation.

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. Titus 2:3-5.

While Jesus was still speaking to the people, behold, His mother and His brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.  But He replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”  And stretching out His hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”Matthew 12:46-50.